Lighting

[Winstonsmommy]

I have a question regarding the lighting for our beardie. I accidentally purchased the wrong hood for the fluorescent light for him. The bulb is a long 18 inch Repti-sun T 10 (I read that was best) but the hood is for a combo basking and UVB light. I had read that some people claim their beardie went blind from the compact fluorescent bulb. I can purchase the Repti-sun T10 compact fluorescent bulb which is the recommended 10% UVB and 30% UVA and use the other socket for his basking light which seems good, but wanted some advice. The other thing I thought is that we will be moving him to a 40-75 gallon tank once he is about 6 months old and that might not be enough to heat the entire tank. Right now he's in a 10 gallon tank.

thoughts???

thanks

renee

 

[CooperDragon]

I would use the second socket for either a second basking light when you get a bigger tank or a ceramic heat emitter to use overnight if the tank drops below 65 or so. I'd stick with a T8 ReptiSun 10.0 tube for now. An 18'' fixture with a reflector like the Zilla Slimline should work nicely. Just take the clear plastic off from in front of the bulb so it doesn't intercept the UVB. You can use the fixture later as a portable or backup when you get your larger tank.

That said, a 10g is really too small because you can't provide an adequate heat gradient in that tight of a space. You want to shoot for about 100-110 in the basking area with a gradient down to 75-80 or so on the cool side during the day. It's important to have accurate readings using a temp gun or digital thermometer with a probe for each side of the tank.

If Petco is still having their $1 per gallon sale it would be a good opportunity to pick up a cheap 40g breeder tank which is a better size. Otherwise I'd move him to the larger tank you're planning sooner rather than later. He'll be fine in the large tank and may enjoy the extra space. When you move to the larger tank you'll either want to mount your T8 inside the tank so it's still about 6-8'' above the basking area or move to a higher powered T5 bulb which has an optimal output at around 12-14'' and is more suitable for larger enclosures. The other advantage of a T5 is that it tends to last longer (over a year) vs the T8 which needs replacement every 6 months or so.

 

[Winstonsmommy]

I have a digital thetmometer on the cool side with humidity and it runs about 78 degrees. The hot side is running bt 95 and 100. I know babies like it a bit warmer to 110 im hoping once my uvb is up it will increase the hear a bit. So I can use the compact fluorescent t10 fir now untul i get the 49 gallon tank? I set it up fir the baski g light on one socket and fluorescent on the other. He got tired so we put him to sleep in his blanky and shut the lights off before we set up the fluorescent one. So u think i should use the one hood for a double basking light when i bump up to the 40 gallon tank and purchase another hood for his uv light ?
Tx

Renee

 

[CooperDragon]

The compact will have an optimal output at about 6'' but is visually very intense so I wouldn't put it closer than that. The output will drop quickly beyond 8'' so keep at least a branch or accessible location within that range. The UVB light won't produce much heat so won't help with the temps much if at all. Once you move to a bigger tank I would get a T5 fixture and light and move forward with that.